First drive: 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S

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By Graeme Fletcher, Postmedia News

Originally published: June 16, 2011

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Munich — The bookend at one end of the Porsche Panamera family is found in the form of the recently previewed Panamera S Hybrid. Sitting neatly at the other end is the new Panamera Turbo S. As is true of all cars that earn Porsche’s S designation, the Turbo’s S signifies a jump in power. It also earns a body kit — a new front clip, bolder side sills, a body-coloured rear spoiler, 20-inch wheels and some interior upgrades. The differentiation is, to anyone but a Porsche-phile, modest in the grand scheme of things.

The same cannot be said of the increase in power. In this case, it’s down to new turbochargers — the exhaust turbines are now made from a titanium-aluminum alloy. This halves the mass of the regular turbine and reduces the lag time a whopping 30%. The other side is the engine’s reworked operating logic. The net result sees the horsepower rise from the Panamera Turbo’s 500 to a brisker 550 hp for the Turbo S. More importantly, the torque takes a healthy hike. It rises to 553 pound-feet, which is up from 516 lb-ft. However, in the "Sport" and "Sport Plus" modes (or whenever the driver nails the kickdown), the Turbo S goes into an overboost mode. This puts 590 lb-ft at the driver’s beck and call, and it does so for a full 10 seconds!

The neat part is that the Turbo S has three distinctly different personalities. When driven in the Normal mode, the seven-speed twin-clutch transmission upshifts early for fuel economy reasons. It is such that, under modest acceleration, it is sixth gear by the time the Turbo S hits 60 kilometres an hour. This mode also makes the Turbo S seem almost docile as there are none of the hyper tendencies that define many supercars; unless, of course, the sport exhaust button is depressed — it amps up the exhaust’s sweet siren noticeably.

Push the Sport button at 60 km/h and the box automatically drops to fourth gear and the throttle response becomes sharper. The Sport Plus mode, again at 60 km/h, automatically drops the transmission into third gear and the throttle response becomes even sharper. The Sport Plus mode also backs the intervention point of the electronic nanny out, which allows the driver to toss the rear end out. In an urban setting, this mode is almost too touchy; out on the autobahn, it comes into its own. Each gear is held to redline under hard acceleration, the speed of the shifts goes from fast to lightning fast and the active air suspension drops the ride height by 25 millimetres, which brings better stability.

The alacrity with which the Panamera Turbo S reacts to a healthy stab at the gas is, well, alarming — it takes but 3.8 seconds to put 100 km/h on its clock and it clips off the 80-to-120-km/h passing move in 2.6 seconds. Perhaps more impressive is that accelerating from 160 km/h to 200 km/h is as outrageously fast — nail the gas and the g-force that accompanies the acceleration drives the riders deep into their seats. I have driven some very quick cars —this one is as fast as any through the mid- and upper speed ranges.

To ensure the power at play is not wasted on unwanted wheelspin, the Turbo S arrives with all wheel-drive, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus). In a nutshell, PDCC uses active anti-roll bars to dial out all unwanted body roll, which keeps more of the tire in contact with the road — in this case, P255/40ZR20s up front and monster P295/35ZR20s at the back. The PTV Plus then splits the power sent to the rear wheels and overspeeds the outside wheel using a variable limited-slip differential clutch and a gentle dab of the inside rear brake. This action physically turns the big Porsche into the corner while reducing the amount of steering the driver needs to dial in. The other advantage is the speed of the process — it varies the left-to-right rear torque split in milliseconds and it does so on a continual basis throughout the corner.

That’s the theory.

In practice, it works very well because, in spite of the power at play, the Turbo S is anything but twitchy. It literally hunkers down and obeys input as though it’s riding on rails. Indeed, one tends to forget this is a full-bodied Grand Tourer and not a lithe speedster.

Having motivated 1,995 kilograms of leather-lined opulence to speed, the need to stop it becomes a pressing issue. To paraphrase Robin: Holy brakes, Batman! The test cars arrived with a set of ceramic composite rotors (optional in Canada) that were larger than the wheels on my original Mini — so big, in fact, that it requires the use of 20-inch rims to accommodate them. Massive six-piston calipers clamp down on the 410-mm front rotors, while four-piston calipers work at the back. The manner in which this system scrubs off speed is as remarkable as it is fade free.

If it isn’t obvious by now, the Panamera Turbo S is one very serious yet equally delightful car. The extra power and sharper handling make a big difference to the overall driving dynamic without upsetting the Panamera’s inherent balance. When it hits Canadian roads, it will arrive fully loaded — the ceramic brake package is the only significant option, and it will be priced at $198,100.